anyone of any social class (including slaves) could gain admittance and present their petitions and stories. Visits to schools, colleges, prisons, exhibitions, factories, barracks, and other public appearances presented another opportunity to gather first-hand information. He was a monarch who did not hesitate to rise from the throne to help retrieve items dropped by an elderly female former slave, one who happily clapped the shoulder of a former slave attending school to learn how to write and read, and who received simple folk on the verandah of São Cristóvão palace outside the normal hours for public audiences to hear their grievances. He talked with everyone and was sincerely interested in listening to the story of each. However, he "was careful in his words and guarded in his opinions." His simplicity made him ever more beloved by his people, building up the image of a kindly father-figure in the popular imagination. This tranquility disappeared when the British consul in Rio de Janeiro, William Dougal Christie, nearly sparked a war between his nation and Brazil. Christie, who believed in Gunboat diplomacy, sent an ultimatum containing abusive demands arising out of two minor incidents at the end of 1861 and beginning of 1862. The first was the sinking of a commercial barque on the coast of Rio Grande do Sul after which its goods were pillaged by local inhabitants. The second was the arrest of drunken British officers who were causing a disturbance in the streets of Rio. The Brazilian government refused to yield, and Christie issued orders for British warships to capture Brazilian merchant vessels as indemnity. Brazil's Navy prepared for imminent conflict, purchase of coastal artillery was ordered, several ironclads were authorized and coastal defenses were given permission to fire upon any British warship that tried to capture Brazilian merchant ships. Pedro II was the main reason for Brazil's resistance, he rejected any suggestion of yielding. This response came as a surprise to Christie, who changed his tenor and proposed a peaceful settlement through international arbitration. The Brazilian government presented its demands and, upon seeing the British government's position weaken, severed diplomatic ties with Britain in June 1863. References Footnotes Bibliography Pedro II of Brazil